Tilt by Emma Pattee

Annie is nine months pregnant.

She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA.

That’s when the massive earthquake hits.

There’s nothing to do but walk.

Annie is 37 weeks pregnant, standing in IKEA, finally about to take home the crib she should have bought months ago. That’s when it happens – the long-anticipated Cascadia Earthquake, dismantling Portland and the entire Pacific Northwest in a matter of minutes.

Propulsive, disruptive, funny, terrifying, Tilt is a novel about how the foundations of our lives are built and shaken. About a woman trying to walk back to the husband she’s long been pushing away. About put-off dreams and inevitability and what makes us keep moving forward.

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Tilt by Emma Pattee is an unflinching, beautifully crafted novel that explores both the literal and metaphorical fractures in Annie's life. The story begins with a disaster - a massive earthquake that dismantles the Pacific Northwest -but it’s Annie’s inner turmoil that truly drives the narrative. Nine months pregnant and stranded far from home, she must navigate a shattered landscape to return to her husband, a man she’s been emotionally distancing herself from for years.

Pattee weaves flashbacks seamlessly through the present-day narrative, creating a dual tension: the external struggle for survival and the internal reckoning of a relationship on the brink. The pacing is pitch-perfect, balancing moments of terror and humour with an overarching sense of inevitability that makes the story impossible to put down.

Annie’s journey is raw and visceral, a meditation on resilience, regret, and the choices that shape our lives. Her vulnerability - both physical and emotional - is deeply relatable, and the earthquake serves as a stark metaphor for the fault lines in her marriage and identity.

While we don’t learn Annie’s ultimate fate, that’s not the point of the story. Tilt is less about where she ends up and more about how she finds the strength to keep moving forward, rediscovering connection and purpose in the midst of upheaval.

Pattee’s writing is sharp and evocative, capturing both the chaos of a disaster and the quiet moments of clarity that follow. This isn’t just a survival story; it’s a deeply human tale about rediscovering connection and purpose in the midst of upheaval.

For readers who loved the blend of introspection and disaster in Lily Brooks-Dalton's Good Morning, Midnight or the emotional survival narrative of Room, Tilt is a must-read.

For a cinematic companion, I’d recommend The Impossible, a powerful film about surviving a natural disaster while navigating family bonds, which echoes the raw emotionality of Annie’s journey.

Tilt publishes on the 13th of March, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.